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“You get people together and get them singing, and you instantly knock down all the walls – the creeds, the gender, age and race differences, everything. You’re all one at that point, lifting your voices.” – Bobby McFerrinBobby McFerrin first developed Circlesongs in his now legendary solo a cappella performances, when he needed other voices to help manifest his musical ideas. He gave the audience parts to sing, layering harmonies and rhythms, using call and response, conducting and composing his spontaneous inventions. During his years of worldwide touring, he evolved a variety of vocal groups beginning in the ‘80’s with his Bay Area based group Voicestra. His Circlesongs concerts celebrated all the kinds of music that would spontaneously emerge from anywhere in his stream-of-consciousness, like maybe from Americana or classical, R&B, gospel, folk, pop, rock, beatboxing—combined with any sound he could imagine.
"In "CIRCLESONGS" mysterious syllables are set to lilting, cyclical rhythms and layered humming that suggest long evenings around the campfire... There are exotic echoes in these songs – of Sufi chants, Turkish folk songs and Zulu music – and the syllables have a vaguely African sound. If the world is a global village, then this is its local folk music" - NEWSDAY
In this concert, Bobby will be joined by a diversely gifted team of celebrated Bay Area singers fromvSoVoSó, a highly imaginative a cappella ensemble including Dave Worm, an original member of Bobby’s Voicestra and Gimme5, Bryan Dyer, Destani Wolf, Tammi Brown and others. Bobby hasvrecently moved back to San Francisco from Philadelphia and is really excited to begin to create with these wonderful singers.
“SoVoSó is tight, soulful, and a whole lotta fun..” – Bobby McFerrin
“Bobby McFerrin’s greatest gift to his audience may be changing them from spectators into celebrants and transforming a concert hall into a playground, a village center, avjoyous space.” – Los Angeles Times
Bobby McFerrin is an inspiration to singers around the world who celebrate his innovative technique and spirit. His solo performances and collaborations with great artists—including Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, and the Vienna Philharmonic—are the stuff of legend. Along the way, there were 10 Grammy Awards and a #1 global hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”
“Bobby McFerrin is an artist whose blinding originality has set him on a course that has no maps but is awash with possibilities lurking in every curve of the road… sheer joy in the elemental beauty of the voice… celebrates music as a primal essence, as crucial to our sense of ourselves as breathing” – The Irish Times
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St, Berkeley, United States
Tickets